Welcome to Mata Nui
by WereWolfPrincess1215
Summary: While searching for water, Vakama stumbles upon a Toa he's never seen, but she manages to get away. Is it possible that there is a new branch of Toa? Are they friends, or foes?
1. Toa of Fire

**Hey! Ish me again! I know…So lazy….Really sorry about that…But better write it when I have the chance! Okay…I don't own any Bionicle except my OWN!!!! Mine….-growls- **

**Kogune: -looks- Just back away slowly from the hyper Weredragat….**

**WWP: -foam comes out of mouth-**

**Taseer: And you better do it quick-now…..**

"We are NOT lost!"

"Yes we are!"

"No we're not!"

"Yes we are!"

"No we're n-"

"Need I remind you, that we are looking for a nice place to spend the night? Here is a good spot. Thanks to your navigational sills, Matau, and your reasoning, Vakama." Nokama's soft voice rang.

Ever since they had all hid the Toa Stones in their Koro, the Toa Metru had banded together to look for a place to rest before continuing their long journey ahead.

Each Toa had a job to do. Vakama's was to seek out fresh water, Matau to collect the camouflage, Onewa to erect slabs of stone for the shelter, Whenua to collect wood, Nuju to set the logs, and Nokama to gather food.

So far, Matau had done an excellent job collecting the leaves, much to his brothers' annoyance, by whizzing through the air, and slashing the large leaves down with his Aero Slicers.

Onewa did a fabulous job erecting the shelter. He had done it in a moment, and was now relaxing in the shade while it grew ever warmer outside.

Whenua was grumbling as usual about his share of the work, picking up stray branches, and dead leaves. With his arms full, he struggled back to the camp. When he came back, Onewa had stretched one of his armored legs out. Not having seen it, Whenua stumbled and tripped, fire wood flying everywhere.

"Ooh! That's it!" he roared, picking the lounging Onewa up by his chest armor.

"Brother, set me down." He ordered, his Mask of Mind Control glowing.

Whenua's hard gaze met his as he fought the probing finger.

"Yes…." He finally spat out, lowering his shorter brother to the ground.

"Here. I'll help you pick up the firewood." Onewa offered, bending down and picking up a branch.

When Whenua's head was down, for he was picking up another branch, the naughty Toa of Stone cracked the branch in half upon the Toa of Earth's head, causing him to fall down.

"Ow!" he whined, rubbing his head.

"That's it, Carver! Your Toa days are numbered!" the angry Toa roared.

Onewa gave a gleeful yip and ran away from the rampaging Toa Brother.

While the two Toa of the ground ran around, Matau from high above saw the commotion and, not being happy with doing work, swooped lower, and chased Whenua around while flying low.

Nuju, who was now bent on picking up the logs Whenua had dropped, watched the commotion with displeasure.

"You know, unlike most people, YOU still have jobs to do as do we all! If I so much HEAR a single peep, I'll freeze you all and hang you for a Mauka Popsicle!" he shouted, giving his brothers his famous icy glare.

"Bu-" Matau tried to say, but something in Nuju glaring even harder( if that was possible) and his Crystal Spikes bared told him to shut his mouth.

He snorted, and began picking up logs again.

"Matau! Back as you were!" Nuju barked, not even looking up. "Whenua! Help me pick these up! Onewa! Fire-pit!"

Matau, grumbling, flew up to get more leaves while a grumpy Whenua picked up the logs.

Onewa rolled his eyes, and stomped his foot. A perfectly round hole appeared at Nuju's feet.

Rolling his eyes yet again, he made his way over to the shelter, and fell down, mask first, feet sticking out.

Now it was Nuju's turn to roll his eye. Why did his brother have to act so immature? They were like Matoran school-children! Only he and Nokama it seemed were old enough to do the task assigned to them.

Just then, the sparkling blue form of Nokama burst through the trees. In her arms were many exotic fruits.

Searching for a large leaf on the ground, she found one, picked it up using only the tip of her foot and placed it on a stump nearby.

Carefully dropping the food, she took a bit of flexible bark and wrapping the leaf around the food, tied it up.

"There. Now, will you report? Nuju, status." She said, ordering, but in a gentle manner.

Nuju stood up. "Onewa's done. Matau's…." he paused to look at the flying form of the Toa of Air, "Still flying….Whenua's done. Just a few more logs to gather. Onewa? You wouldn't mind making a little cover for the wood, now would you?"

Without saying anything, a slab of stone erupted from the ground with a nook for storing wood to keep it dry.

"Thank you, Onewa!" Nuju called in a mocking happy voice.

The Toa of Stone gave no reply.

"Everyone's done, except Vakama. He isn't back yet."

Nokama groaned. "I knew I should have taken that chore upon myself! No Ta-Matoran could ever sniff out fresh water! What have I done?"

In a sorrowing heap, she sat down and sighed.

Nuju came over and placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder.

"He'll be alright." He assured her.

**With Vakama**

"I knew I should have refused and let Nokama have this job!" complained a tired and frustrated Vakama.

He had been walking around in the dense jungle for what seemed like miles.

Sitting down, he decided to take a break.

All of a sudden, a beautifully eerie voice floated down like a soft cloud.

Vakama's ears pricked up to listen to it.

It was just a plain melody with no lyrics, but he felt entranced by it.

Getting back on his feet, he followed the beautiful melody through the jungle.

With every step, the music seemed to get louder, when finally, Vakama burst into a clearing.

There, standing in a waterfall, was another Toa, like him.

She was the one singing the song.

The Toa of Fire watched as the crystal clear water ran off her reddish orange armor and sparkled in the light.

His orange eyes sparred with conflicting feelings of inspecting the Toa, or leaving her alone.

Vakama's urge to inspect proved to be far greater than leaving her be.

Silently, he lifted his foot up and accidentally set it down on a twig.

It broke a loud SNAP, alerting the Toa to his presence.

He saw her mask whirl his way.

Both Toa locked eyes with the other for but a brief moment before the Toa opened her mouth and blew out a heavy sheet of steam that wafted around everything before it dissipated.

The female Toa was gone!

Vakama swung his head in all directions, but there was no denying it. The mysterious Toa had vanished into thin air.

Shoulders sagging, he made his way over to the waterfall. He stuck a cupped hand into and drew out water.

He drank the liquid to find out it was the most delicious and refreshing water he had ever tasted!

Vakama took a large leaf and dipped it into the cool water which he carried back to camp while using some of his elemental power, to burn some of the plants so he could find his way back.

When Vakama had traveled for an hour, but to him it felt like a few minutes, he came upon the campsite once again.

Nokama's restless eyes helped her be the first one to spot him.

Joyfully, she leapt from where she was sitting and ran to greet her brother.

"Vakama! We've missed you!" she said, a happy tone in her voice.

She took the leaf that held the water from his hand and opened it up slightly.

"Good work, Vakama! This is the best water I've ever seen! How did you find it?" she asked.

Vakama smiled warmly. "That, my dear Sister, is something I'll reveal at the campfire."

Then looking at the logs Nuju had set up, he simply pointed at it, and they ignited.

He smiled and nearly skipping, went to find more work to do out in the jungle.

"What's he so happy-joy about?" asked a skeptical Matau from behind Nokama.

"I'm not sure…." The Toa of Water replied.

"All that searching for water must have cooked his head." Piped Onewa from behind.

"Perhaps he needs a break. Let him be, but if this continues, we will take action against it." Nokama said, attempting to make her brothers feel better.

If she were to tell the truth, she too had been frightened by Vakama's good mood. It seemed too good to be true.

The Toa of Water stared hard at the spot where the Toa of Fire had left the clearing.

**During the campfire….**

"…and then I came back here!" Vakama exclaimed at the campfire. It burned brightly in the chilly night air.

"That is an interesting story…" Nokama said, in an excited tone.

"A little TOO interesting if you ask me…" muttered Onewa.

He flinched under the Toa of Water's gaze.

"I think that's enough chit-chat. I took the liberty of weaving mats for each of us to sleep on. Who's up for keeping the first watch? I'll do it." Nokama said, usually being the first to help the team.

Nobody spoke out until a very evil idea slithered into Whenua's mind.

"I'll do it, Nokama." He spoke.

"Alright. Let's try and fall asleep. We don't want to leave without rest."

She stretched and padded for the shelter. It had been intelligently camouflaged so that it was practically invisible if one was seeing it from a bird's eye.

Hesitantly, the other Toa, except for Whenua followed Nokama.

Vakama was made to sleep in the middle, for his extreme temperature made sure no-one was caught in the cold.

Nuju slept on the outside, not minding the cold at all.

Only Onewa, Matau, and Nokama huddled around this heat source.

Matau, Nuju, Nokama, and Vakama had fallen asleep almost instantly.

Whenua smiled. This was the perfect time to activate his plan.

His eyes glinted evilly as his Mask of Night Vision flicked on, glowing as bright as the sun.

"Whenua! Cut it out!" called a grumpy Onewa.

Whenua shut his mask off, but then took the delight of flicking it on and off.

"Whenua! I'll tell Nokama!" the whiney Toa of Stone threatened.

Having had his fun, Whenua shut his mask off, and savored the joy of annoying his brother.

**Behind the campsite…**

Two shadows slid noiselessly toward the campsite.

They stopped, when they saw a bright light.

They crept ever closer only to see the black form of another Toa sitting, watching the site.

"There is another one." The shadow whispered.

"Yes, Sister. What shall we do?" another asked.

"Investigate."

**YAYITH!!! First chapter done! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! WHOO HOO!!!!!**

**Domo Arigato for …who was it now? I forgot….Oh yeah! Thank you to Saya Moonshadow, and G'reth the Air Dragon for proof-reading the story to perfect it! Gracias!!!!!**


	2. Toa of Earth

**Er…Yayith? I got yelled at by Mauka, so now I'm scared…' Hold me….**

**Hinali: O.o Okay….Er….Bionicle is brought to you by…**

**Raune: -slaps Hinali- Ice-brains….What are you gonna do with 'em? WWP does not own Bionicle cough cough Yes she does cough cough Lego owns them. Only me and my bestest bestest bestest best brudder and sissies are owned by her…No stealing or I'll…make her…make Taseer…To sic you…Is that right? –looks at script-**

**Virrakai: UG!!! GET ON WITH THE STUPID STORY ALL READY!!!**

**All: O.o -whispers- She's scary…**

**Previously on 'Welcome to Mata Nui'…**

_Two shadows slid noiselessly toward the campsite._

_They stopped, when they saw a bright light._

_They crept ever closer only to see the black form of another Toa sitting, watching the site._

"_There is another one." The shadow whispered._

"_Yes, Sister. What shall we do?" another asked._

"_Investigate."_

Quickly, silently, the shadows crept closer and closer.

One was blacker than black, a pure shadow, the other was grey with darkness.

The lighter motioned for the darker to go the other way. A blue eye and a red eye burned in the eerie darkness.

The shadow flicked on its mask power and instantly, the sky became as bright as day, darkness replaced by light.

"That's better…" murmured the being.

Her vision scanned the area and landed on Whenua.

The red and blue eyes shown with puzzlement as brows furrowed in thought.

He looked bored, sighing and mask resting upon his fist, eyes wandering over his comrades.

She started backing up when it bumped into something.

"Hey! You nearly scared me! Watch where you're going!" hissed the grey one.

"Sorry…I want to get closer!" The black one exclaimed.

Without waiting for a reply from the other, it bounded off.

She slowly crept on all fours to the right side of this strange Toa, slinking closer.

Her hand lifted up only to land on a dried leaf, making a loud CRUNCH.

Whenua snapped his head over in the direction the crunch was, heart beating with fear.

His mask flicked on, illuminating the area.

"Who's there?" he asked, not bothering to mask the fright in his voice.

The black shadow hugged the sand underneath her, hoping the shadows would mask her black form.

The grey shadow held her head in anger then let out a fierce roar of a wild beast, hunting in the night.

Whenua swung his head over in her direction, pulling out his Earthshock Drills, allowing a space for the other to creep to safety.

The black shadow crept out onto the sand, but unfortunately stepped on yet another leaf.

She froze as Whenua's light fell upon her, distinguishing her from the dark of night.

He gasped as the form of a Toa revealed herself, their eyes locking, his emerald looking into her forest.

"Run!" hissed the grey form.

The black Toa did just that as she took a leap into the dense forest surrounding the camp, the grey following.

Whenua ran after her, trying to find out more, but he could not, it was as if she had disappeared into thin air.

He sulked back to camp, rubbing his head, trying to think of a way that he had missed her.

He sat upon the stump and watched the others before nodding off into sleep.

Even though he was not watching over the other Toa, someone else was, forest green eyes shining in the dark to watch over the strange Toa.

**Ug…I know, I know, I suck at this….whatever….This was…really really short, but I'm too lazy to write more. Oh! And by the way, that was not another Akidroh continuing to watch for Whenua….That was Virrakai…. And I need ideas, so if one of you nice reviewers could offer a suggestion on how another pair of Toa could meet, just shoot away! Just….Don't shoot me….**


	3. Toa of Ice

**Whoot! I'm back! WHOOTTT! Anyway, I got some inspiration...and I'm gonna write this chapter! Go! Taseer!**

**Taseer: ****Bionicle**** is owned by Greg, or ****Lego****, not by WWP, only we are, her cute little Toa Akidroh! –smiles-**

**Whoot!**

**The next morning…**

Nuju yawned and stretched his arms as the Mata-Nui sunlight hit his eyes. He got up and trotted over to the fruit sack for a light breakfast. He opened the sack and took out a medium green-blue one. As soon as he bit into it, he felt his hunger cease.

Smiling a little, he continued munching on his fruit. The Toa of Ice looked around the campground. Whenua was gently snoring on his stump, and Matau was drooling all over his mat.

Nuju gave a small snicker at his green brother. He looked so innocent when he slept.

When he had eaten all the flesh of the fruit he could, Nuju threw the core in the bushes and stretched again. The white Toa looked into the jungle and decided that he would work-out for little bit before the other Toa Metru awoke. Quietly, he snuck out and left the others, still fast asleep in their dreams.

The Toa of Ice trudged through the thick brush of the jungle before coming to a little clearing. He looked around, and decided that, yes; this was a good spot to do a few exercises. Nuju started with a warm-up consisting of a few one-handed pushups, followed by a few sit-ups, then by a few back flips and front flips. He then moved on to the harder stuff, like swinging his Crystal Spikes at an invisible enemy while back flipping out of the blow of another. More than once, he had used his mask power to summon lone branches and use them like javelins, throwing them at his 'opponents'.

Soon, he was panting as hard as a Muaka cat after it had ran after a Kikanalo. The Toa of Ice sat down for a breather and began working his mind, slowly recalling on what the best way was to defeat an enemy.

While he was meditating, his ears picked up the faint sound of someone 'kee-YAhing'. He looked further into the jungle, wondering if this was the same thing Vakama had heard before he got up and crept to the sound of the yelling, using his lenses like binoculars. The 'Keeey-YA!'s were getting louder the closer he got. Then, his lenses caught a glimpse of something white and pale blue through the trees.

Nuju switched off the binocular vision and soundlessly edged forward. His eyes peered into a small clearing, much like his own, where a sleek, pale-blue-and-white Toa was sparring with trees and branches. He noted that her movements were a lot like an icy-cold river moving through a freezing landscape. She was bending, and stepping out of attacks, but she was also hitting hard enough to leave gashes on the trunks of trees.

The Toa's weapons flashed and glinted in the light. Wavy, Iceberg blue blades with pure-white handles slashed and defeated her enemies. Nuju saw her crystal-blue-and-red eyes widen as she put her blades away.

She growled at an army of transparent who-knows-what, and icy-shruiken appeared in her hands. She gave a quick spin, sending the throwing stars everywhere. Nuju had to duck to avoid getting his head split in two.

Letting out a sigh, the female Toa waved her hand at every shruiken and they disappeared.

The Toa Metru watched as the strange Toa stretched and cooled-down her body. She had done an excellent workout, complete with weapons, and elemental powers, plus she had done a cool-down, which allowed the body to relax and slow down to normal speed. All and all, she had done very well.

Nuju started clapping, startling the Toa. She loosened her blades and stood in a fighting position, her eyes watching the pure-white Toa warily. The Toa Metru of Ice held his hands high, to show he meant no harm. "I will not hurt you. I am a friend." He said, slowly, in case this was a not-so-bright-Ko-Toa.

Her eyes narrowed. "I can speak, Ko-Matoran!" she hissed. "I wasn't born on this island!"

Nuju frowned, curious about this statement. "Then where did you come from?" he asked her.

The Toa looked away. "What does it matter to you? All you Ko-Matoran are alike!" she spat, causing the male Toa to flinch.

"What did we possibly do to you? I've never seen you before in my life!" he argued, throwing his hands up for emphasis.

"They all say that. Remember Lhikan? Toa Lhikan?" she asked, keeping her eyes narrowed.

Nuju nodded and his eyes misted up a little over the memory of the valiant Toa Lhikan.

"His team wasn't so good. Lots of rotten Gukko eggs in that lot."

Nuju shook his head. "No! They were all good! Not one of them rotten!" he defended.

"No. They were not. Lhikan may have been the only good Toa in his team. Remember Nidhiki? Toa of Air?"

Nuju flinched, remembering Nidhiki. "Was he once a Toa?"

The female nodded. "Yes. He was until Roodaka mutated him…remember Tuyet? Toa of Water?"

The Toa Metru flinched again. Tuyet was the only Toa who had ever murdered innocent Matoran.

"There was another one. Toa Shaetune. Toa of Ice. He is the reason I am here instead of Metru-Nui, where my home is."

The Toa of Ice' eye ridges knitted together. "What? What could he have possibly done to you?"

"Long ago, I don't know if you were there, but Toa Shaetune went to Turaga Dume and asked if he could do a little experiment on the misfits of the island none cared about: female Ta, Po , Ko, Onu, and Le Matoran, and one male Ga-Matoran. The Turaga had agreed, as long as he promised not to hurt them.

Together with Tuyet, he created six Toa Stones and gave them to the Matoran chosen to be guinea pigs. When Lhikan found out he was furious. He tried to stop them and even threatened to kill Shaetune and Tuyet. Shaetune managed to change the Matoran into Toa but soon gagged, tagged and bound them, placing them on a boat with no captain. They were smuggled out of the city, and Lhikan could do nothing about it." She paused for a moment, her eyes glazing over at the memories.

The Ga-Toa was the first one to break through his bindings, and helped the others out of theirs. They began steering the boat through caverns and dangers. Together, the Toa discovered a new land, this island. They spoke their language so they never would forget it, but also studied the wild calls of Rahi, and were able to tell animals apart, on just how they sounded. They learned, and survived, but Shaetune never appeared to collect his experiment. That is our story," she finished, taking a breath as she looked down at the broken black transmitter ring on her ankle. "That is why we do not trust Toa. Only ourselves."

Nuju nodded, half-remembering what she had told him. Yes, there had been an experiment involving Matoran, but he couldn't remember anything else about it.

The female Toa started to walk off, but he grabbed her arm. "What's your name?" he asked, only getting a glare in response.

"Don't tell anyone about our meeting," she growled. The Toa twisted her arm out of his grasp and threw shruiken with the other.

Nuju barely had enough time to dodge them. When he looked up, she was gone.

Looking back at the shuriken, he picked up one of the throwing stars and looked out into the forest. "I won't." he promised.

**Whoot! That was the quickest I've ever done a chapter! YEAH!! Two days! Take that!!! YES!!!!**

**For Reviewers: **

**Tera: Yes. That's a good idea. I might use that.**

**Waffle: What I do with my story is what I do with my story. If it gets to the point where it's a Mary-Sue (who came up with the name anyway?) please tell me so I can file it down. But if you don't give me a notice, and you complain, I'm not going to take it. K? I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just sayin' I don't like complainers.**

**Toa Nicole, G'reth, Noblity, Tera, thank you all for posting such great comments! My story is like a flower! With love and compassion, it will grow tall! (Who wrote that? I'm gonna kick the guy who made that up!)**


	4. Toa of Air

**Hey, peepers! Happy Valentine's Day! –waves- Ready for the next chapter? Well, I guess if you weren't ready, you wouldn't be reading this, yes? Well, whatever. I'm gonna use the idea Nobility gave me! Go! Kogune!**

**Kogune: ****Bionicle**** is not owned by WereWolfPrincess1215, only the Toa Akidroh are. I was told that ****Bionicle**** originated in ****Greenland****…I wonder why that is…**

"Karzahni! Why won't this work?" came a frustrated voice.

Matau opened his eyes to the sight of Nuju trying to shape some ice into something sharp. He slowly sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The Air Toa gave a little stretch and cracked his fingers before turning his attention back to Nuju. "What won't work?" he asked curiously, looking at the Ko-Toa.

Nuju looked a little startled that his brother was awake, but his surprise was quickly swallowed up by anger. "Nothing!" he growled, hiding an icy shruiken behind his back. "Why don't you keep your mask out of other people's business?"

"Well then, maybe I will!" was Matau's reply, growling with as much hostility as Nuju's comment had been. Glaring angrily, the green Toa got to his feet and adjusted his Aero Slicers on his shoulders to form wings. Then, turning his back to his white brother, Matau gave a quick hop and soared into the air.

When he was far enough away, he landed and started steaming in anger, kicking rocks, roots, anything that was in his path. After a while, he stopped kicking, not only because his anger with Nuju for ruining his morning had cooled down (G'reth the Air Dragon's A/N: Bad pun, I know), but also because his feet were hurting. He sat upon a large stone and began massaging his feet, occasionally using an air current to soothe them.

All of a sudden, he heard thundering footsteps. He cocked his head to the side and listened, the pounding seeming to get louder with every breath he took. The noise seemed to be coming from behind him. Slowly, he turned around, frightened to see what was making the racket.

Without warning, a large green-and-yellow Phase Dragon came rocketing from the shadows of the trees, a green figure clinging to its side as it ran.

"Air-Brother! Quick-dodge!" the Toa yelled, leaping off the Rahi and knocking Matau out of the way. They tumbled onto the sand, with the strange Toa winding up on top of Matau. The rouge dragon just kept running, taking no notice that its passenger was not on its back anymore.

The Toa Metru of Air stared at the Toa with his mouth hanging open, a look of disbelief on his mask. The female Toa merely smiled. "A sure-fine way to say hello!" she said in a friendly voice before she rolled off Matau. She stood, placing a hand above her eyes and peered into the dense forest.

Matau managed to sit-up, but was still winded and confused. "Where did you-?" he started to ask.

The pine-green Toa dropped her hand and turned her head to peer at him. "Look-see, I really must snare-catch that Phase Dragon before she damage-hurts herself," she commented almost apologetically. She turned her head away from the male Toa and said, "Follow if you want, but be warned, I'm quick-fast."

The female took out a pair of green swords that were a bit different from his, but not by much, and held them so the blade tips were level with her knees. She gripped them tightly and the swords snapped in half, sending a forest-green membrane to her side. The membrane connected with the Toa and made a pair of wings like those of a bat.

Matau stared in awe as the other Toa leapt into the air, flapping her 'wings' and disappearing into the forest. Standing up, he took out his own Aero Slicers and positioned them on his back. With a wild laugh he was up in the air, following the Toa. He used his element to carry him closer to the fun-loving female. "Hey! I never quick-caught your name!" he yelled to her.

Widening her arms, she soared higher. "It's Taseer! Toa Akidroh of Air. And don't you quick-forget! Your name, Air-brother?"

"Matau! Toa Metru of Air!" he shouted as he flew higher as well. Using a jet of air, he managed to scoot himself abreast of Taseer. "So…what are we see-lookin' for?" he asked after a few minutes, wondering what she was looking for.

"Gae'linae."

"Who?"

Taseer giggled. "Gae'linae! She's my best heart-friend…except for my teammates. She's the Phase Dragon you saw earlier. She was frightened-scared and bolted." Taseer explained, looking at the ground.

"How could one tame such a wild Rahi-beast? There were some dragons that quick-raced our vehicles at the Moto-hub, and once in a while a foolish Matoran like Kongu would try to ride-drive one. He always got bucked off or smash-dashed into a wall the dragon phased through."

A giggle escaped from Taseer's mouth. "Ah yes, Kongu, I remember him. He always was a joker. I didn't understand how nobody but me could successfully ride-drive a Phase Dragon. I guess I have a way with animals."

Matau's eyes widened when she spoke Kongu's name. "You know Kongu?" he asked, shaking his head.

Taseer nodded and then looked at him with her sea-green eyes. "Yes. I did once, a long time ago. I was a Matoran labor-working in the Moto-hub. I had a crush-love on a cute Matoran. I forget what his name was, but I remember that he used to selflessly ride-drive dangerous vehicles. He always used to smash-dash into things. He even smash-dashed into me once."

Matau nodded thoughtfully at Taseer's story. Who was the Matoran? Did he know him? He shrugged it off for a moment and looked down. Through the brush, he spotted a green and yellow form. "Hey! Isn't that Gae'linae?" he asked as he pointed to the form.

Taseer looked down and nodded. "Yes. That's her alright." She tucked in her 'wings' and lost altitude quickly. She let out as burst of air and caught up with the dragon. "Gae'linae! Slow down! It's all right!" she called to the creature, trying to calm it.

The Phase Dragon snorted and ran faster. Matau watched as Taseer shook her head. "Matau. I need you to fly-hover above her, and when I get her to quick-stop, hand-grab the back of her neck. It'll keep her from moving until I can calm her down," she called over to him. Using another jet of air, she zoomed forward until she was far ahead of the dragon. Matau squinted to see what she was doing.

Taseer's weapons folded together and the Toa fell to the ground, putting her swords in her pack. Her mask began to glow a lime green and her form slowly melted, re-shaping and growing into the bulk that was the Tahtorak. The Toa-Rahi gave a mighty roar that shook the island. The smaller Phase Dragon gave a startled roar and braked, allowing Matau enough time to grab onto her neck. The beast gave a snort, and stopped thrashing.

The Tahtorak gave a low growl, and then the form receded into that of a Toa. The Toa Metru of Air stared in awe at the shape-changing Toa. And he thought only he could change shape. He watched as the female Toa calmly walked over and laid an armored hand on the dragon's heaving side. "Shhh…it's alright…shhh…" she spoke in a whisper, stroking the dragon gently.

After a few more strokes the dragon started to purr faintly. Taseer smiled and rubbed harder. The dull purr became a full-throated one, the ground almost seeming to rumble.

"Do you want to pet-stroke her?" the Toa Akidroh asked Matau. Slowly nodding his head, the Toa Metru carefully went around the Phase Dragon and stood next to Taseer. He stretched his hand out cautiously to touch the Rahi.

Gae'linae gave a small snort but allowed Matau to stroke her sleek, leathery hide.

Taseer smiled and looked at the green Toa. "She's calmed down now, so do you want to have some cheer-fun? We could wind-fly, or I could tour-show you more of the island. Do you have a suggestion?" she asked, cocking her head.

Matau shrugged, his mask flashing an emerald green as his form re-shaped into Taseer's. He smiled and then waited for the female's reaction. She giggled and then allowed her mask to glow, causing her form to change into Matau's.

The Toa Metru allowed himself a whistle. He looked really hot. Maybe that was because he was in a female's body, but he still looked very attractive. "Wow, I look handsome-good," he gloated, puffing his chest out.

Now it was Taseer's turn to joke around. She poked him in the chest, causing the Toa to deflate. "I don't look half-bad myself," she chuckled, winking. "You know what? You look starved. Are you hungry?"

As if on cue, Matau's stomach gave a growl loud enough to belong to a Muaka Cat. He gave a sheepish grin and changed back into his Toa-self. "Maybe a little."

The Toa smiled and took Matau's hand. "Here. We have bread and flesh-meat at our camp," she told him as she looked up. "At this sun-time everyone should be deep-wood, so I can go in and get you food." She tossed her head and started walking through the sand, half-dragging the Toa Metru.

After walking for half-an-eternity, Matau's mouth fell open as he gazed at the camp. The shelters were much more sophisticated then theirs had been and more closely resembled the houses on Metru-Nui. With a pang of homesickness in his heart, he remembered his old home and how safe he had felt. A single, silver tear forced its way out of Matau's eyes and rolled down his cheek. The liquid was quickly wiped away by an armored finger.

Taseer looked at the homesick Toa with her soft green eyes. "You miss your home, don't you?" she whispered, reaching out and touching his shoulder. "I felt the same way when I came here."

Matau closed his emerald eyes and took a deep breath. He took the female's hand and squeezed it, sending with it all his sadness, doubt and hate. The Toa of Air took another breath and opened his eyes. Taseer's pale green eyes were filled with tears and the Toa, who had stood before a charging Rahi, unafraid, was close to crying. She took a gulp of air and said gently, "There is nothing one can do to make the pain-hurt go, but we can rely on our heart-friends and the pain-hurt heals, leaving only a scar. I know nothing of your past nor you mine, but they are the same. We were both hurt, shaken and terrified. I wish-hope that one day, your heart will mend-heal." The female took a breath and blinked away tears.

Releasing his hand, Taseer padded to the nearest hut. After a few minutes she came back with a bulging sack woven from palm fiber. She pressed the pack into Matau's hands and told him, "Here. What I heart-promised you. Bread, flesh-meat, fruit, fish, it's all in there. Take it back to your team. I must ask you not to wander deep-wood again looking for me." She smiled sadly, bowing her head for a moment before looking up. "If I need you or you me, we'll signal. Heart-promise, Air-brother?" she asked, looking longingly at him.

Slowly, Matau nodded and grasped the pack tighter. "I heart-promise."

"Then you must quick-leave if you are to traverse the far-distance in time."

Matau's Aero Slicers snapped open as he waved fare-well to Taseer. A breeze picked up and his wings filled with a thermal, allowing him to hover slightly. The Toa Metru then kicked his feet off the ground and soared away into the brush.

Taseer stood on the ground and waved until he disappeared. "Good-bye, my Air-brother," she whispered before she went back inside her hut.

**Yeah…that may have been a little fluff…. PLEASE DUN KILL MEH!!! –runs under table- Don't kill me…I'm too young to die!!! I was…..just something….Like, I wanted them to cry….I don't know if I overdid it, or what…I really hope the MatauXNokama fans don't kill me….I'm BRETHREN!!!! I LIKE MatauXNokama! I swear I do! Oh, and by the way, Taseer doesn't have a Mask of Illusion. She has what I like to call a Mask of Impersonation. Almost-but-not-quite the same thing. Funny what you can think up when you're half-asleep…**


	5. Toa of Water

Hey! I've had some inspiration and it's worked for me. So, I don't own Bionicle. (Still wish I did) 'Cus that would be cool. Like, insanely cool. But I don't. I'm gonna have to get in Greg's will…Meh. Forget it. I don't want to run Bionicle…Okay, so I lied. I really do want to run Bionicle. That's like, my dream. Except for not dying. That's my top wish. I like to keep logical wishes. Okay! Okay! I lied again! I don't keep logical wishes! I asked Santa Clause for a guy to ask me out! I got Kiss Me Mint toothpaste instead! I hate the irony of it… T.T –is sad now- Onto the story…Meh…

The late morning sun warming her armor awoke Nokama. She blinked to clear her cerulean eyes. Her arms gracefully spread in a stretch. The Toa of Water rose and stretched her legs, grabbing onto her ankle and bending down until her mask almost touched the ground. She switched with the other one, repeating herself.

Nokama put her foot back on the ground and looked around. Matau was gone, Nuju was gone, but everyone else was still sleeping. Deciding to take a swim in the salty protodermis, she made her way out of the clearing, following the sound of the waves crashing upon the sand.

The sparkling, azure plain greeted her as if she were a long lost friend. Suddenly, all the maturity drained out of her body and the Toa of Water bounded into the surf, laughing like a school child. The water felt so good on her armor. Taking a breath, Nokama sank beneath the waves and slowly opened her eyes. It was a whole new world down there. Colorful fishes darted in and out of bright hued rocks a ways away. She took out her Hydro Blades and swam deeper. The sand beneath her seemed to slide away from her as she kicked her powerful legs.

The deeper she got, the darker and colder it was, too. Strange, dark shapes entered into her peripheral vision, but then disappeared just as suddenly. Nokama was a little frightened about the shapes and the mystery of the deep. She glanced over her shoulder, wondering if something was sneaking up on her. There was nothing, but something chilled her to her core. She stopped in the water and hovered for a few moments, trying to get her bearings. Hadn't she come this way? If so, where was that rocky formation she had passed? Unless…It hadn't been a rock formation at all.

The Toa of Water was instantly scared. Her head flicked skyward at the lighter water. She needed to surface. She kicked, soaring closer to the light and air. Just a little bit farther…

Nokama erupted out of the water and immediately looked around, swirling in all directions. She hadn't swum this far away from the island, had she? No. Faintly, she could see the tall stack of the volcano. How had she swum all this way and not noticed? Mentally chastising herself, the Toa prepared to dive under the water.

Just as she was about to, a blue shape rocketed from the ocean a ways away from her. She tilted her head, puzzling about what sort of Rahi would be able to do that. Suddenly, it leapt out of the water again; a little bit closer, allowing Nokama to get a rough outline of what it looked like. It had a tail, she knew that much, and probably lungs, too. It could have been a Proto Drake, but the color was off. Proto Drakes were a light blue, and this was a dark cerulean/cornflower blue. The idea of a new sea-Rahi intrigued her, and the Toa followed.

As Nokama grew closer and closer to the strange creature, she realized it had a fluked tail, meaning it was a mammal, not a fish. It also had scales, because the sun reflected off the hard skin. The creature slowed down, then carefully broke the surface before diving down into the dark. The Toa of Water followed hesitantly.

A musical whine or hum entered her ears, making her heart ache. Then it happened again. It was beautiful, the notes rising and lowering like the crests of the waves. The creature in front of her paused for a moment or two before swimming in that direction. Perhaps it was one of those creatures.

Nokama concentrated, her mask shining a sky blue, and tried her best to copy the cry, asking who the creature was. To her surprise, the swimming Rahi stopped and turned around. The Toa of Water froze, mind leaping to a carnivorous Rahi. The creature swam closer to her, a confused look on its face. As it grew nearer, the Toa gave a sigh of relief. It wasn't a Tarakava, or any species of shark Rahi. Now, she could distinctly make out a mask, and armor. It was a Toa! Nokama stayed still not out of fear, but out of shock.

The Toa, now a few meters away was obviously male, and a foot taller than Whenua, the tallest on the team. This new Toa had to be around eight feet tall. His tail wasn't a tail at all, but a boomerang that had somehow filled out on his feet. His eyes were the color of a cut sapphire, softly glowing behind an ultramarine mask which had three ridges and looked a bit like hers. The strange Toa opened his mouth, but a stream of bubbled came out. He smiled sheepishly, then pointed upwards, soon following his finger with mighty kicks. Nokama hesitantly swam up to the surface.

The Toa smiled broadly. "I am Aweno, Toa Akidroh of Water. Who might you be? I have never seen you before on the island. Are you new here?" The blue Toa closed his eyes and sighed. "I apologize. I am asking too many questions. Please forgive me."

The Toa Metru's mouth opened and closed like a fish's, wondering what to say. "I'm Nokama, Toa Metru of Water." At the mention of 'Metru', Aweno's eyes widened.

"You mean that you are… you are from Metru Nui? Oh, what is it like? How are the schools? The students? Have you seen any of my friends? Are they safe? I apologize. Perhaps now is not the best time. We will go to dry land. Then will you tell me of Metru Nui?" he asked earnestly, obviously excited that Nokama came from Metru Nui.

Her shoulders sank and her head fell. How could she tell him that Metru Nui was destroyed? She would find a way. Nokama nodded, making the tall Toa beam. He gestured for her to follow him and dove beneath the waves, speeding off with the makeshift tail. The Toa Metru followed suit, but failed to swim as fast. Aweno noticed that she was not right behind him, so he doubled back to swim by her side. He kept looking at her like Whenua would gaze intently at a Rahi, making Nokama blush a deep scarlet.

Before she knew it, they were in the shallow part of the beach. The larger Toa removed his 'tail' with difficulty, and slung it over his shoulder, the plates in the 'tail' retracting. He took the boomerang and with a sharp, wrist flick, sent the weapon hurtling over the tree tops. A few moments later, it returned whistling into his palm. Aweno smiled and pulled an old piece of driftwood over for Nokama to sit on. The Metru meekly sat and folded her hands in her lap while the Akidroh dropped cross-legged on the beach.

"Though I would like to hear about Metru Nui, I think it would be polite if I began with my story, as part of a larger introduction." He began. "I was a Matoran living in Metru Nui. Of course, male Ga-Matoran are scarcer than Fe-Matoran. I was a scientist in the basement of one of the laboratories. I forget which one; it was so long ago. I was working on Project Mutation when I was summoned to Shaetune's office. He asked that I lead a team in an experiment. The goal was to discover if there were other islands like this one. I, being a scientist and loving experiments agreed, and I was introduced to a rag-tag bunch of Matoran. They were naturally all from their respective Metrus, Le, Ta, Ko, Onu, and Po. All of them were female. The first thought I had was that I was not the only misfit of the Metrus.

"Later I learned that we were part of an illegal immigration, and that Toa Lhikan was furious. Later that night, we were all drugged and taken by force into a laboratory that could have very well been mine. We were operated on, and something was embedded into our armor. Still drowsy, it was an easy task to bind, gag, and set us out upon a ship. The ship left at dawn. I guess that Lhikan shoved a Matoran out of a canoe and started paddling to save us. But the ship had already left the harbor.

"When my mind had cleared, I realized that the something that was now a part of us was the foundation of the project I was working on, the project dealing with prosthetic-"

"Toa stones. You helped make false Toa stones, molded out of energized protodermis and Toa power. The protodermis magnified the smallest bit of power. I read about that in the history books. I was a teacher once." Nokama interrupted with, feeling her cheeks grow hot. To her surprise, Aweno smiled.

"So we are remembered, or at least I am, anyway. Shall I continue, or are you bored with my tale?" he asked gently, brushing sand off his armor.

"Please, continue."

Aweno nodded. "Very well then. Let us see… As each of us grew conscious of the highly unstable material coursing throughout our bodies, a terrible pain overtook us. The energized protodermis was not merciful in dulling the agony. It was by sheer luck that we were not destroyed, but turned into Toa with unique armor. Unfortunately, our bindings were meant to constrict Toa. Somehow, I broke free of my bonds and helped free the others with my boomerang. Being a Ga-Matoran, I was naturally skilled in sailing a ship. But instead of going back, like I should have, I sailed onward, toward the light, in a vision I had. Metru Nui no longer was my home. We conquered danger after danger, things we could not even dream of, until we reached this island. My team named this island after the great being that gave me my vision: Mata Nui. That is my story." The Toa ended, taking a deep breath. He tapped the black ring on his arm unintentionally, then pulled his hand back, realizing the habit he had set up.

Nokama looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Aweno. I wish I could do something for you, but I can't. I'm so sorry. No one should ever have to go through what you've gone through."

The Toa looked up at her with a grin. "I have suffered, yet I have come out for the better. Nothing has wronged me." His smile faded with a long, drawn out roar from within the jungle. He stood up, and started toward the noise.

"Wait," cried Nokama. "Will I ever see you again?"

Aweno's eyes glanced up toward the sky. "By the will of the Great Spirit." He flashed a white grin and fled into the bushes, leaving Nokama alone. She sat on the log for a few moments before heading back to camp. She wondered why he had left before she answered the questions he really wanted to know. It only gave her time to think of what to say.

**And there you have it. I'm sorry this didn't come out until now. I'm really, really sorry about that. And I don't have any excuses. Thank you, Tera Hunter, for reminding me to get off by butt and work at it. This chapter's on you. ******** And you have also dug a little deeper into Aweno's past.**

**And congratulations for all the smart people who noticed that 'Aweno' is 'Onewa' spelled backwards, and that 'Akidroh' is 'Hordika' spelled backwards. To all of those who didn't, you get a consolation cookie. :D **


	6. Toa of Stone

Heey! Sorry for the IMMENSELY long wait. I got caught up with life. You know, I was just sitting and knitting, and I was like, 'Huh. You know, I really ought to finish Welcome to Mata Nui. I mean, pssh. It's not like I have anything better to do…' So I got on here and did it! :D I hope nobody kills me. Uh…Yeah. OH! Aki-con. ROCKED! :D I was Kakshi-sensei, and I got so many hugs! 3 I also was chased around by a Rabbit (Hah! Rabid!) Sakura. Um… Oh! =^^= Teehee! Somebody also asked me to dance! 3 I think I'm in love! -w- Mmm…..

Disclaimer: I do not own Bionicle, nor shall I ever. And blah blah blah, I only own Kogune, Raune, Taseer, Aweno, Virrakai and uh… Hinali. That's right. *nod* *nod*

"BWAAAAAAHH….hooo….BWAAAAAAHH…hooo…BWACH!" Onewa instantly jolted upright, awake and blinking rapidly. Did he…Did he just wake himself up by snoring? His mouth hung slack as his eye ridges knitted together as he attempted to figure out how that would work. A green-armored hand held his jaw shut, and the Toa of Stone smacked Matau's hand away. The other Toa chuckled. " If you keep making silly-faces like that, it's eventually going to keep-freeze that way," to which Onewa stood up and punched his brother in the gut.

Emerald eyes nearly popped out of his mask as the forest-clad elite collapsed onto the forest floor, gasping like a fish for breath. "That wasn't fair!" Russet eyes narrowed and the Toa of Stone squatted before Matau, hands on his hips. "Life's not fair, Turaga." Onewa mocked before giving a wild whoop and sprang up despite the whining of the green Toa. While his brother pulled himself off the jungle floor, the elder helped himself to breakfast, a particularly delicious looking fruit that he had had his eyes on since Nokama gathered it yesterday. He was almost afraid that someone would have eaten it before he could get to it, seeing as everyone was already awake.

As soon as he bit into the fruit, the juice squirted everywhere and Onewa leapt back in startlement, mask dripping with fragrant liquid. The Toa of Air just snorted and slapped his knee, holding his stomach where he had gotten punched. Grouchily, the shorter Toa wiped the stuff off his face and muttered something before storming away.

The russet-Toa gazed disdainfully at the mushy fruit in his hand before discarding it angrily into the bushes and began licking his sticky fingers. It did little to help as afterwards leaves began to stick-fast onto them, making his day a little more worse. Onewa jumped and waved his hands around as if engaged in some sort of Gukku mating-dance as he tried to get the glue-like substance off his hands. When that didn't work, he kicked the nearest tree and hopped away, mumbling oath after oath.

After stumbling around for a half-hour, the Toa of Stone sank to his knees beside a brook and immersed his hands in the running water. He scrubbed at them furiously, vowing to eliminate all traces of the dreaded fruit juice that had now dyed his normally earthy-armor into a deep purple. He doubted his face looked much better. Growling to himself, Onewa dunked his entire head into the water in hopes to return his armor. Something hitting his foot made the Toa Metru jerk his mask out of the water and gaze dropped down to the forest floor. Delicately reaching out, he picked up the object. It appeared to be a rock. Where did that come from?

Listening hard, Onewa managed to pick out a faint sound of something fighting, or at least it seemed that way. Curious, he began to follow the noise, picking his way over fallen logs and shrubs in his path. When the jungle did manage to thin out, he came face to face with a small rock quarry. He scratched at the back of his head. Well, that explained where the rock came from. But the question now was: how did it get there?

Suddenly, a figure entered into the scenery and the brown Toa hit the deck, hoping whatever it was hadn't seen him. It looked to be the size of a Toa, but clambered from rock to rock like a Muaka. And Muaka weren't that small. Perhaps it was a young one? If it was a cub then…It's mother couldn't be all that far behind. Onewa slowly made his way to his feet and every so carefully backed up, as to not provoke the mother Muaka to attacking. When he was far enough away, he turned swiftly, deciding to make a run for it when he slammed into something solid and unmoveable.

The Toa Metru fell back onto his rear, staring up at the thing he ran into, thinking it to be the mother. It wasn't. It was a Toa! "Wha?" He wondered aloud stupidly, gawking up at the rust-colored female Toa. "You're a girl!"

She scowled, arms crossed over her chest as her piercing sand-colored eyes pierced through his armor. "Get up." Her voice was lower than Nokama's, but had all the booming authority of Whenua. Onewa scrambled to his feet, not ducking nearly enough to dodge her blow. The twin weapons clipped the crown of his mask, bowling the Toa of Stone over. He rolled to absorb the impact and procured his pitons quick enough to parry her next blow. The Metru swiped his pointed weapons at her, only to have them smashed into the ground by massive tomahawks while an ochre-leg headed for his face.

He ducked and rolled, dislodging the Proto Pitons from the earth and slamming the brunt end of them into the female Toa as she hurtled past. She let out a gasp and hit the ground hard, but she was up again, slightly favoring her right leg. Snarling, she pointed one of her weapons at the now standing russet-Toa. "Just who are you!"

Onewa stared hard at the female, trying to quell his beating heart. "My name is Onewa, Toa Metru of Stone," he answered quickly, then a mocking grin passed over his features. "And what's yours?"

The strange Toa hissed at him, beginning to circle around him like a Muaka. Funny thing, thought the Toa Metru. That was what he mistook her for, if that figure in the quarry was her. Without warning, she lunged too quick for the male Toa to acknowledge, and sent them hurtling headlong into the rocks. She used him as a cushion and sprang off him and onto her feet before wildly swinging the axes.

Onewa ducked again, and the weapons slammed into a boulder with enough force to sheer the peak off. He took the opportunity and scrambled atop it, claiming the high ground for himself. Back-flipping over the female, his pitons slammed into the tomahawks and hooked onto them. One his feet had touched the ground, the Toa of Stone hurled his weight forward with all of his might, tossing the smaller Toa into the air. She came down with a mighty crash, shattering the boulders that she came down upon. The rust-colored female moaned, as the dust settled and Onewa thought the battle over, until she managed to weakly get onto her feet.

She panted heavily, using her Toa tools for support as she shakily stood in the middle of the debris. Tan eyes locking onto her opponent, her sienna-colored mask began to glow orange and the Toa Metru tensed, waiting her mask power.

Suddenly, his arms and legs grew limp and he collapsed onto the ground-or would have had not a force caught him. "Wha?" Without him meaning to, Onewa put his weapons into his pack and shuffled like an awkward puppet over to the strange Toa, her fingers dancing in the air as if she held the strings. A malicious smile crept upon her mask as he slunk closer, and she lifted her tomahawk. "Heh. Say goodnight." With the heavy blow, soft brown eyes slackened, and with a moan, the Toa of Stone fell into darkness.

The female Toa breathed heavily as she gathered the strange Toa into her arms after her weapons had been shoved unceremoniously into her pack. "Sorry to do this, but I can't have you reporting back to that Kinloka-rodent Shaetune. I don't give a Stone Rat's Ash Bear how much he's paying you, but you're not going to find us, no sir-ee," she murmured to the unconscious body before dragging him away.

Unbeknownst to her, emerald eyes widened and a quick green figure darted into and out of the shadows, the strip of yellow blending him in perfectly with the light from the treetops.

And there you go! ^^ Chapter six! Teehee! I hoped you liked it! Again, I apologize for this being so late. I got caught up in life. So yeah. Hopefully, you guys won't have to wait like, what? Six months? Ten? A year? I dunno. I hopefully won't keep you waiting as long as I did. Soes yeah. Oh! Whoever names the Toa wins a hug. :D


	7. Toa Akidroh

Lol. Hai guysss! See? I told you that I'd get this next chappy done sooner than the other one! ((Late PS. :Never mind… -.-)) :DDD Um, so I don't own Bionicle, blah, blah, blah, I only own Taseer, Raune, Kogune, Aweno, Virrakai, and uhh… Hinali. That's right. Lol. I always forget her… I dunno. Oh wellzies! :DD

"V-Vakama! Nokama!" Matau hurtled through the underbrush as fast as his legs could carry him. And that was before he realized that he could indeed fly. He bounded over a fallen log in his path and Aero Slicers appeared on his back. They caught the wind and soon he was flying much faster than he had been sprinting. He also had to dodge more trees and vines than before as they now came at him rapid-fire. "Whenua! Nuju!"

A few more minutes of weaving around and making sharp turns that would have killed a regular Toa, the Metru burst into the clearing, accidentally catching his foot on a stray vine and magnificently crashing into the forest floor. He was helped up by a pair of blue arms and Nokama's concerned eyes met his own. Opening his mouth, Matau spat out all the dried leaves and dirt he has accumulated before grasping her forearm with such intensity, the blue-armored Toa took an instinctive step back. "Matau, you look as if you've seen a ghost."

"They'vegotOnewa!"

"I beg your pardon?"

The emerald-clad Toa took a deep breath, lively green eyes flitting to rest on the gathering team. "Onewa got capture-napped! I followed him deep-wood, and he got into a brawl-fight with a Toa-stranger. She knocked him out and took him!"

Nuju glared at him. "You said Onewa got into a fight. Why didn't you try to help him?"

"Would he have let me if I did?" Matau shot back, returning the Toa of Ice's glare. Stubbornly, the white Toa gave up the fight. Matau was right. Onewa didn't like help, preferring to fight his own battles. He was rock-headed like that. But then again, all Po-Matoran were. "We have to rescue-save him!"

The remaining Toa looked at him, looked at each other, and murmured amongst themselves before Vakama stepped forward. "So we're all in agreement? Let's rescue our friend!" Five pairs of armored hands shot into the air and one large battle whoop sounded, causing a flock of Gukko to flee to safety.

-()-()-()-()-()-

"Raune! How could you? Why did you kidnap him?" Aweno sighed with anxiety, head in his massive hands. "We are supposed to make peace with the other Toa team, not make them angry with us." The rust-colored Toa gazed down at her prisoner with a loss of excitement. She hadn't planned that she'd get this far. "Um…"

"What's all the-" Kogune entered the hut through the thick leather flap with a piece of dried fruit in hand, and immediately dropped it, mouth falling open. "Raune, if what I think is happening is happening, it better not be." The scarlet-clad Toa rubbed the side of her mask with an armored hand before kneeling before the unconscious Toa, making little clicking noises. The Toa of Fire rocked back on her heels and chewed on her lip before pulling out a sprig of dangerous-looking stuff and waved it under the prisoner's nose. In an instant he was awake.

In another he had tackled Kogune to the ground and aimed a blow at her face. The rust-colored Toa roared and leapt towards Onewa, grabbing his armor as she hurtled over him, pulling him off her leader. The two Toa of Stone snarled as they rolled out of the hut and into the camp, both trying to seriously wound the other. Raune snapped and tried to bite him while attempting to dodge his berserker fists. Once their motion was halted, they scrambled onto their feet and lunged at each other again, swinging, punching, kicking, scratching, anything that could inflict damage. By now, everyone had emerged from the camouflaged camp to watch the spectacle that was going on. Onewa and Raune parted, taking offensive stances and breathing hard.

Neither noticed a glinting in the trees. Sharp sapphire eyes caught the light and, boomerang in hand, Aweno dove to intercept the Kanoka disk. The massive Toa managed to deflect the attack, but had absorbed most of the disk's energy. He sank to the ground like a sack of wet cement and stayed there, heartlight flickering faintly.

"Aweno!" Taseer cried, sea-green orbs training on the bit of red in the jungle before she charged to it, mask glowing. In another moment, a Kavinika had latched onto Vakama's arm, snarling and growling as she scratched at the orange armor. The wolf-creature released suddenly, yelping in pain as the armor had super-heated and burned her muzzle. Taseer shifted back, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth as she glared at the Toa before her. "Taseer! Gukko!" The pine-green Toa did as she was told as an arrow buzzed over her head and struck the enemy's breastplate. The arrowhead erupted in a flash of light and with a moan, the male Toa collapsed.

A massive black shape erupted from the jungle, Earthshock drills humming furiously as their master charged. An almost equally-fast ebony blur rocketed from a hidden spot and crashed into Whenua, causing him to go sprawling onto the ground. He glared and swept his leg along the earth, knocking the frightened-looking female onto her rear. As she scrambled away, the Toa Metru of Earth was after her once again, until a white-armored hand stopped his advance. Hinali snarled and with a glint of metal, nearly sliced his mask off had he not moved. Earthshock drills clanged loudly against Glacier Edges as the two elites clashed with each other. The dark female gave a whimper and scampered away out of the fight.

Raune swung her fist at Onewa, only to have it blocked by a roundhouse-kick that rocked her frame. She stumbled backwards to regain her footing before charging at the russet-colored male before her. She feinted right, and he fell for it, a heavy foot connecting with his head. Or it would, had not a pair of emerald swords stopped it. Matau shoved the female backwards, and summoned a roaring wind to blow the foe away. Raune grunted as she was thrown backwards into the ground, her body coming into contact with a heavy thud, and she lay stunned. The two Metru approached the unconscious female, deterred by Kogune. Her bow was pointed at the strange Toa, twin arrows notched and ready.

The white Toa knocked the larger male to the ground with an expert swing from one of her blue-bladed swords, and touched his emerald heartlight. She drew back her arm, ready to end the fight when her back exploded and she sank onto the ground, weapons clattering from her hands. Whenua gazed up at Nuju, and smiled before taking his hand and helping himself up. "Good to see you, brother. Another moment and I would not be here. Thank you."

Nuju continued to be stoic as he watched Onewa and Matau fall. "Don't thank me yet." With a roar, he ran at the scarlet female, Crystal Spikes clenched tightly in his white-armored hands. Nearing the female, it was apparent that she was not so worried about him as she was about his fallen teammates. The Toa of Ice swung the Toa tools at his enemy; surprised when a body contacted it that was not hers. The green Toa was knocked to the ground, puncture wounds in her breastplate where the teeth of the spikes had bitten. Too weak to move, she lay there, slowly being bathed with a puddle of blood.

Kogune whirled at her attacker, shocked that the blow had been taken for her. She strung an arrow and pointed it at the white Toa, flaming eyes hard. Her teammates had all fallen, and here she was up against two Toa, and the third had to be around her somewhere. A thick band went around her throat, and a smooth voice was in her ear. "Drop your weapon and kneel." Obediently, the Toa of Fire did so, tossing her bow to the side where Whenua picked it up.

"I-I didn't want any of this to happen. Let me explain, please."

"Don't listen, Nokama," Nuju warned, taking a stiff step towards the two female Toa, Crystal Spikes at the ready.

After many long moments, Nokama unlooped her Hydro Blades from the Toa of Fire's neck and backed away slowly. "Speak." Kogune made no motion to rise or go for her weapon, but knelt upon the ground meekly.

"I apologize for my team's rash actions towards your own. We've gone through a lot, and still smart from what happened in our past. Raune, Toa Akidroh of Stone, kidnapped your Toa of Stone only because she felt threatened and scared by his presence. She acted alone. I ask your pardon." The crimson Toa prostrated herself on the ground and waited with her mask touching the earth for her captor's judgment. She would say no more.

All eyes but the strange Fire Toa's were on Nokama. The spotlight was on her, but she was not sure that she knew what to do. But she did know that the shamrock-green Toa at her feet needed some attention-and fast, as did some other Toa. A moaning made itself known to her ears and the Toa of Water glanced over her shoulder at the darker-blue form she recognized as… "Aweno!" Paying no more attention to the last remaining conscious other-Toa, she rushed to his side and took a knee. The massive being weakly opened his eyes, but was too weak to do anything more. But that didn't stop him from trying.

"Mrr…" Mrr? What was mrr?

"…sea." Sea? Sea of what? Sea of Mrr? Oh! Then it clicked. "You want mercy?" The faintest of smiles appeared on the massive Toa's lips as if pleading the other. Nokama's eyes softened. "We're not going to kill you or your team. We'll help them, but then we want an explanation."

She gazed back over her shoulder at the still-prostrated, scarlet-armored Toa. "I…can…help…" The Toa Metru turned her attention to the male at her feet, surprised that he was trying to get up. Wasn't that a weakness disc Vakama had launched at him? And a fairly high level, too. So how was he getting up? "Whenua, help him up. Nuju, see to the others."

Both Toa gazed back and forth at each other before doing what they were ordered to do. Before either of them could move, the captive was up and sprinting towards the other Toa of Fire. Nuju lunged to intercept her, but she was too quick, and got there with seconds to spare. Sprig in hand, she waved it under Vakama's nose, praying that this herb would help.

He awakened a few seconds later, right in the middle of the Toa he had seen earlier being forcibly pinned to the ground by Nuju. Vakama rose to his feet, a little woozy, but awake. "Wh-what happened?" He pointed at the now limp but completely awake female Toa. "Who is she?"

Kogune attempted to try and look his way, but she couldn't, thanks to the Toa of Ice's expert pin-job. But it got a little looser now that the leader was awake. "Nnf. M Kogune. Towa Akido of Fiwre. Pweesh to mee oo." The red-hued female mumbled into the ground. "Pweesh wet me up."

Nuju glanced at Vakama, and Vakama nodded back. And so the Metru let her go. With that, Kogune was on her feet, hand stretched out in a greeting. "Sorry for nailing you with that arrow. You're not hurt, are you?"

The Toa Metru of Fire shook his head, confused. "Uh…no?" The counterpart breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good." She turned to look over her shoulder. It appeared that Aweno, with help from the large black Toa was walking off the effects of the Weakness Disk. It was only a matter of time before he could single-handedly patch up the parties that need patching up, most of which seemed to be her teammates. Kogune bit her lip and made to turn to help the unconscious male green and brown Toa when an orange-armored hand stopped her. She glanced back at Vakama with a question in her eyes, but he shook his head and released her.

Kogune took it as an invitation to go about her work, and soon the other Toa from the other team were back on their feet. Now the only ones she had to worry about were her own. Aweno would fix Hinali and Taseer, but she could help Raune. Once she was awake, the two sisters embraced, the rust-colored one almost crying.

"I-I'm sorry, Ko. I did all this," Raune whimpered, sniffling a little. Well, she was right about that…

"It's alright, alright? There's nothing to worry about," Kogune assured her anyway. And indeed, things were all right. The Toa of Fire glanced up to see Taseer on her feet, or rather, resting on the ground, and Hinali was swiftly recovering under Aweno's incredibly useful mask power.

Of course, the parties on both sides were banged up and could use a few armor repairs, but they would live. Gazing up at the sky, Kogune noted that it was merely sun-down, and so she pulled herself up from her Stone sister and went to light the fire pit in the middle of the teeny village. Before long, there was a roaring blaze…and someone watching her.

"You still haven't told me your name," Kogune chided without looking. She could smell the scent of ash, and didn't need to turn around to know it was the other Toa of Fire. "Vakama," came the reply. Vakama…

"I know that name. You were a mask-maker, weren't you?" This time, the female being turned, coral-colored eyes softening up just a tad. Vakama nodded slowly. "Yes. I was," he murmured softly, taking a place on one of the logs circling the fire.

There was a ghost of a smile upon Kogune's lips, but it was gone again in the blink of an eye, making the Toa Metru wonder if it had even been there in the first place. "But how did you know that? I don't think I've ever met you."

"Well," the female Toa mused to herself, poking the burning logs with a long stick. "We never technically did, but everyone knew your name, Vakama. You were, after all, the best mask-maker in Ta-Metru."

"But that still doesn't answer my question. How do you know that?"

Kogune was silent for a long while, pink-colored orbs staring deeply into the crackling fire. The male quickly realized that he had struck a nerve and had just opened his mouth to apologize when he was interrupted.

"Because I lived in Ta-Metru, once upon a time. I was never as…" She laughed, but it was a forced, pained one. "Skilled in making masks, so I made weapons instead. I was better at that. But anyway, there I was, bottom of the smelting pile, and I got wind of a job offering. Well, I took it, all it sounded like was nothing more than a few experiments, probably on DNA or something. But that was the stupidest move I've ever made."

The Akidroh groaned and buried her head in her hands, finger-tips griping the edge of her flame-colored mask as if to pull it off. Vakama hesitantly extended his arm and brushed her shoulder. Kogune just winced, but allowed his touch. After a few long moments, she surfaced, a thin film of tears running down her cheeks. She hastily rubbed it away. "Anyway, I was gathered along with a few others; the other Toa on my team, and we met…" The female Toa's mouth opened and closed, her lips forming words that Vakama couldn't understand. She caught his confusion and tried again.

Still nothing.

"Maybe if you wrote it in the sand?" He offered, but she shook her head. "I can't say it. Maybe one of the others could…-"

"Shaetune." Raune spat, smoothly clambering over the log and sitting down beside her sister in a defensive posture, glare upon her features. "Shaetune, that nasty, smelly-" and then she launched into a series of rude remarks that were combined with a series of Rahi calls. When this rant was over, the Toa of Stone folded her arms and appeared quite haughty, possibly oblivious to the incredulous stares she was getting by both Toa of Fire.

"I'm done now." She announced, quite matter of factly.

"Raune, wash your mouth out with soap," snarled the white feminine figure that had recently appeared around the campfire. Hinali took a seat and crossed her legs, looking quite off-put. She took great pride in her skills, and absolutely hated it when she was bested. Though her body was present, her eyes were not, as they soon began staring into the oncoming darkness.

Two more Metru arrived at the fire: Whenua and Matau. They perched themselves delicately on the log opposite the one the girls were sitting at currently. Although they were at a truce, neither much trusted the other team, and parties from both sides sometimes shot glares when they thought the other wasn't watching.

The next to trickle in were Taseer, Aweno and Nokama, the later engaging in conversation that nobody at the fire pit could keep up with. Except for maybe Nuju, who came in behind them, but he didn't really say anything.

The last one to arrive was Onewa, and the brown Toa of Stone did so muttering under his breath. He took the last remaining seat and sat with his arms folded over his chest, glaring at the four females and the one male.

"Where's the sixth?" Whenua asked, recalling that one was missing from the Akidroh's ranks, the black one.

"Virrakai? Oh, she's dark-hidden herself. She's deep-afraid of strangers," Taseer replied, shifting around in her seat so she could see better. "But she's around here somewhere." She rubbed at the black ring around her neck.

"About the explanation…" Vakama coughed, loud enough for everyone to hear. The silence fell like a stone. "I'm sure we have each learned how you came here, in different ways, but why did you attack and kidnap Onewa?"

All pairs of eyes shifted to Raune, who glared back at each in turn. "It wasn't her fault. We've been paranoid and distrustful toward other Toa," Kogune said, wringing her hand over the dark ring on her wrist.

"Alright, then how did you find this place?" Nuju wondered, chin supported by his palm.

"I had a vision," replied Aweno softly.

"So you're a Seer?"

Taseer gave a small laugh. "No, he's not a vision-seer."

"Then how-?"

"In a dream I had."

Vakama seemingly deflated a little: he had been on the edge of his seat at the mentioning of another vision-seer.

"So how did you become Toa-heroes?"

It was Aweno's turn to answer that again. "I already told Nokama. But I shall retell it again, if you so wish." And he did.

Onewa appeared almost pensive. "And I thought all Toa were heroes."

"Nidhiki wasn't." Raune shot back, continuing to glare at the stone Toa. He was about to say something snotty in response but closed his mouth and appeared to brood.

"But why would Sh-" Nokama began to ask, but because the other team all flinched-except for Raune, who violently spat into the fire- she stopped. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"At this point, your thought-guess is as good as ours." Taseer replied with a helpless shrug, scooting closer to the fire that had died down considerably. "But it is getting late-dark, so I think we best be bed-heading. Have you a shelter-home?" The green she-Toa asked, eyes wide and glowing, much like a curious child's.

There was a murmur spread through the Metru team and there were individual noddings of few, and a chorus of 'yeahs' and 'mmhmms'.

"Do you need an escort? The woods are dark-dangerous at night."

"No, thank you though. We'll be fine," Vakama answered politely, picking himself up from the log. His team members followed suit. "Thank you for…" He paused as if trying to come up with the right words to say. "Hospitality…" Well, it didn't seem to be the right one, but there wasn't another to use in its stead. Then the Toa of fire seemed to hesitate, but then departed from the fire pit. One by one, the other Metru began to follow suit, trickling into the darkness.

Kogune gave a heavy sigh and buried her head into her hands. Aweno put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Taseer, would you mind seeing them home?"

The pine-green being nodded, mask glowing a soft teal. Once again, a Kavinika stood in her place. She gave a nod before darting after the departing team, leaving the massive blue Toa to care for their leader.

"It's been a long day, Ko. Why don't you go and get some sleep?" She nodded gratefully and together they stood, slowly making their way toward her hut. Once there, the Akidroh of Fire paused at her door. "Thank you, Brother."

**I…am so sorry that I did not finish this sooner. I would have said that I got lost on the path of life, but that would be a lie. And I'm not Kakashi-sensei. But I do cosplay him sometimes. Except this time, when I'm being Tobi. Why? Cus Tobi is a good boi.**


End file.
